Presentation day

They sat down next to each other, and Sora became aware of how close he would sit next to her for the next two hours. It seemed that the illusion of roses and sparkles never went away. Sora started to think he created it on purpose.

Now she couldn't text freely, since he might be looking at her phone as she does. When she saw Maki's text she excused herself and went to the bathroom. She texted him all the info she knew about Oshiro, hoping he might get something out of it. It was getting late, so there won't be any news today probably.

She thought that it was a bad idea to come to Kyoto on Monday if the conference started the next day. They could've been a bit late tomorrow, but at least she wouldn't have to stay in the same hotel as Oshiro for two days straight.

Kiyo has been messaging her all day too, with some weird memes and questions. Sora replied in a reserved manner and returned to her seat.

She had to trust herself, and just be as natural as possible, she thought. Oshiro had been nice to her, and he didn't show that many red flags, right?

She smiled at him, as she sat down.

He looked up from his computer, and smiled back, "Sora-chan, are you okay? You seem preoccupied."

"Do I? Uh, nothing special, just worried about the poster."

"If you are, we can practice once we get to the hotel."

"Um, huh, I might practice in my room, you are right..."

"Don't you need feedback?"

"No, I think it'll be okay, Oshiro-san... I can do it myself."

"As you wish. I am just offering help, but I won't insist." He turned to his computer.

She breathed out, it seemed he wasn't pushing to be with her, right?

"Sora-chan," he touched the rim of his glasses, "are you really worried about the presentation? Maybe something happened?"

"Why do you think so, of course not!" She brushed it off, unconvinced by her acting skills.

"Okay, as you say. What do you want to do after we arrive? Do you maybe want to take a walk? It won't be too late, and I haven't visited Kyoto for some time."

"Um, no, I think I'll go rest. You, on the other hand, should go if you want."

"Okay, if you say so."

She thought it might be best to change the topic of conversation.

"O-Oshiro-san, what about Maromi? Is she staying alone at home for three days?"

"Oh, you are worried about her?"

"Well, of course! She is the best cutest cat!" She made a very cute expression, unconsciously. Oshiro had to pause for a moment, in order to process it.

"Ha-ha, well, she will be fine. She has an automatic feeder, and my neighbor will come and check on her, so she'll be okay. She is used to staying alone..." He looked away as if remembering something.

"For real? Oh, that's so sad to hear!" Sora clipped her eyes. "I hope she will be fine!"

"Sora-chan, please, don't be worried." The corners of his lips turned up, as he opened his computer ending the conversation.

The rest of the journey they didn't interact much. Once they arrived at the hotel, Sora quickly ran off to her room. Unfortunately, the hotel looked rather dull, despite her hopes of it being made in traditional Japanese style. In the room she finally exhaled, looking at her phone. No new messages. Disappointing.

"Belle," she called out, "we are safe. "Were you able to see anything else about Oshiro?"

The Crane appeared and looked at her, tired eyes. "No, I think he's very good at hiding it. The fox seemed to have a very sensitive smell."

Sora felt overwhelmed for some reason. "Should we sleep?"

"There is one bed and no couch, how am I supposed to sleep?"

"Just sleep next to me, I have no stamina to quarrel about it, Belle."

"I will turn into something else then..."

"Whatever you feel like."

Despite saying she would change her form, the Crane sat beside her on the bed, scrolling Tiktok on Sora's phone. Soon they both fell asleep.

Tuesday came shortly after, the conference was set to begin at 9:00 sharp, so Sora woke up at 7:30 to be able to go have breakfast and prepare herself on time. Since she was to present today, she chose a white blouse, a black bow tie, a vest, and straight black pants. They were not regular clothes though, she still managed to pull off ouji lolita fashion. It was supposed to be extra. Always. She glanced at herself in the mirror, made a sleek bun, and noted that she looked crisp. She was excited, a bit nervous, thoughts racing. Soon she heard a knock on her door, Oshro's voice ringing behind it.

"Sora-chan, I hope you are awake, we have to leave soon, I came to go to the university together."

She put on the crane bracet and opened the door, "Oshiro-san, so nice of you. I am ready, we can go now."

He sized her up, "Nice outfit you've got there."

"Ha-ha, thank you... anyway, let's go!"

"Khm...You forgot your poster."

"Ah, of course!" She slapped herself on the forehead. Then took the poster and followed Oshiro outside.

The university wasn't far, so they had a chance to walk a nice street, excited Sora couldn't help but spin around like a whirligig. Oshiro remained unusually silent. She didn't notice, consumed by her interest in the surroundings.

The university looked standard to her, and the campus was sizable. When they entered the main building they saw the conference information station. Fired up, Sora jumped to the table. A man was sitting behind it, half of his face hidden behind his hair. He narrowed his eye when he noticed her and smiled politely.

"Welcome, may I know your name, miss?"

"Of course, I am Masaki Sora."

"Good, here is your badge Masaki-san. And," he paused looking at her, "if you need anything, you can always ask me. I am a librarian, and an assistant to the staff today, so please be sure that I am of help."

Sora looked at him awkwardly, "Em, sure. Thank you."

"Uh, of course, Masaki-san." He nonchalantly threw a hand, as he spoke.

"Great, thank you" She bowed several times before stepping aside.

Oshiro stood behind her, frowning. He looked at the librarian intensely. "May I also have my badge, please?"

"Oh, of course, mister... May I know your surname?"

"Sure, it's Oshiro Sota." He raised a brow.

"Here you are, please Oshiro-sensei." The librarian was all smiles.

Sora was distracted by the pamphlet, searching for the best paths to the conference hall. She waved back at Oshrio, pointing to one of the corridors. He nodded towards the table - she left her poster there again.

The time of the presentation came quickly, the morning was spent listening to various presentations from the experts in the field, and after lunch, she had to go to a hall where all the other students put up their posters.

Naturally shy she tried to communicate with several of them, but it wasn't very informative, as all the students were reserved and worried too.

The moment she tried to clip her poster on the top, she saw a hand helping her. She turned her head to see Oshio's charming smile. He was closer than usual. After a short moment, he moved away after the poster was secured. She felt that he shouldn't be bad, he genuinely seemed like he always tried to help.

"Thank you, Oshiro-san!"

"Nothing to worry about, I am just helping a fellow colleague of mine, right?" he winked. "Bon courage!"

"Merci!" She chuckled.

He left to give her space, and soon the people started coming into the hall. Soon enough she was surrounded by researchers asking her questions, inquiring about her study results. She felt great talking about them, and seeing so many people interested made her even more animated - her hands were very expressive.

Oshiro stood further away, smiling as he observed her lively interactions with others. Who knows what he was thinking.